Robert Mugabe is indeed a clear name in the ears of Africans and people around the world. Known for his sedentary autocratic government, he was one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders and the world’s oldest president.
Robert Mugabe’s biography
Robert Gabriel Mugabe was born on February 21, 1924 near the Kutama Jesuit Mission in the district of Zvimba, northwest of Salisbury in Southern Rhodesia to a Malawian father, Gabriel Matibili, and a Shona mother, Bona, both Roman Catholic.
Looking at Mugabe’s tyrannical nature, I might think he was raised by an autocrat father, but that is far from the truth. Mugabe’s father was a carpenter. He was an unusually disciplined and strict young man. After all, he had a difficult youth – by the age of 10 he had lost his two older brothers. One died of poisoning and shortly thereafter his Malawian father abandoned the family. He went to South Africa on a Jesuit mission and mysteriously never came home. Mugabe’s mother, a teacher, had to raise Mugabe and his three siblings alone. As a child, Mugabe helped out by looking after the family’s cows and earning money from odd jobs.
Angered that Southern Rhodesia was a British Mugabe, a colony ruled by a white minority, took an interest in politics and was eventually imprisoned for his anti-government remarks. The sentence lasted more than 10 years between 1964 and 1974.
On his release he founded the Zimbabwe AfricanNational Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), a resistance movement against British colonial rule. In 1980, when British rule ended, Mugabe was elected Prime Minister, head of government of the new Republic of Zimbabwe, a position he held until 1987, when he became the country’s first executive head of state. He was President of Zimbabwe, in office from 31 December 1987 to 21 November 2017 when he finally resigned. However, his resignation was not without a fight.
See: King Mswati III: 10 Essential Facts About Swaziland’s Absolute Monarch
Before the ex-president left power, he made sure military officials agreed to his request for immunity for himself and his wife, including allowing him to keep some of his assets.
His education
Although many people in Southern Rhodesia went only up to high school, Mugabe was lucky enough to get a good education. He attended the Marist Brothers and Jesuit schools, including the exclusive Kutama College, under the direction of an Irish priest, Father Jerome O’Hea, who took him under his wing. He graduated from St. Francis Xavier College in Katuma in 1945.
For the next 15 years he taught in Rhodesia and Ghana and completed fellowship training at Fort Hare University in South Africa. He graduated from the institution in 1952 with a Bachelor of Arts in History and English Literature. While teaching in Ghana, Mugabe enrolled at the Kwame Nkrumah Ideological Institute in Winneba.
As a result of his love of education, the former Zimbabwean leader has also received a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of South Africa by correspondence. Through distance learning, he earned a second bachelor’s degree in administration from the University of London International Programs.
During his sentence between 1964 and 1974, Mugabe taught his fellow inmates English and earned two law degrees by correspondence from the University of London.
Wealth (income and earnings)
A cable written ten years earlier by the US Embassy in Harare was published by Wikileaks in 2011. According to the report, Mugabe’s full fortune was not known but was believed to be worth over US$1 billion, most of which is likely to be invested outside of Zimbabwe.
See also: Teodoro Obiang: Everything you need to know about the President of Equatorial Guinea
According to the report, the overseas fortune was rumored to consist of everything from the Channel Islands, secret accounts in Switzerland and the Bahamas to castles in Scotland.
However, according to more recent reports, Mugabe has amassed a net worth of $10m (£7.5m), mostly from the fortune he made from the country’s diamond deposits.
Opposition politicians have claimed the Mugabe owns 14 farms in the country. The best known is the Omega Dairy Farm, one of the largest dairy farms in southern Africa.
Family – wife and children
Mugabe’s first wife, First Lady Sally Hayfron, died in 1992 and on August 17, 1996, Mugabe married a second wife. She was his former secretary Grace Marufu, 41 years his junior, with whom he already had two children. She first became pregnant by Mugabe while he was still married to his first wife Sally, and while Grace was married to another man, Stanley Goreraza, who is now a diplomat in China.
Mugabe has three children (one girl and two boys): Bona Mugabe, Robert Peter Mugabe Jr. and Chatunga Bellarmine Mugabe; and a stepson with Grace Mugabe, his second wife: Russell Goreraza. The last son was born in 1997, when Mugabe was already 73 and his wife 38.
Robert Mugabe house
Having made a lot of money leading Zimbabwe’s Mugabe has a lot to offer. In Zimbabwe, the Mugabes are said to have six residences, including his residence known as “The Blue Roof,” which is said to be extraordinarily opulent and valued at more than US$10 million (Shilling 1 billion). The home features 25 bedrooms, 2 lakes, a huge dining room with seating for 30+ guests, a large outdoor pool and an oversized master bedroom with a super king bed. It sits on a 44-acre site fenced off from the public and protected by a multi-million dollar radar system.
In 2013, Robert Mugabe also purchased a more than $5m (£4m) mansion in Hong Kong. According to media reports, the house was bought by Bona Mugabe, Robert Mugabe’s daughter, a few months before she began studying at the University of Hong Kong.
The former President also owns Hamilton Palace in Sussex, which was valued at around $40m (£30m) before it was converted into a building site.
The Guardian also reported property purchases in Malaysia, Singapore and possibly Dubai, all on Mugabe’s behalf.
Is he dead?
Several rumors about the President’s state of health have been in full swing over the years, but it lives on. His constant medical care, exercise routine, guided diet and so on have helped him stay in shape despite his age. When Robert Mugabe turned 88, he said he had died many times. There I struck Christ. Christ died once and rose once. “
More interesting facts about Robert Mugabe
1. He was Chairman of the AU
Robert Mugabe served as Chairman of the African Union from January 30, 2015 to January 30, 2016. Before that he held the same position from 1997 to 1998. Then the organization was called the Organization of African Unity.
2. He flipped Zimbabwe’s literacy status
Despite all the criticism directed against the tyrannical Mugabe, there is no doubting the tremendous transformation he has wrought in his country’s education system during his tenure. Under the presidency of Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s literacy rate rose to 90%. This achievement is due to his love of education.
Read more: Top 15 Unforgettable Robert Mugabe Quotes
3. He proposed marriage to the US President
Robert is famous for his violent crusades against homosexuality. After the US legalized same-sex marriage, this was his answer to Barack Obama.
“I’ve just come to the conclusion – since President Obama, advocates same-sex marriage, advocates for gay people, and enjoys an attractive countenance. So when the need arises, I travel to Washington, DC, get on my knees, and ask him.” defy his hand the express instructions of Christ, for our Lord forbade sodomy among mankind.
He accused the US government of being run by perverted Satan worshipers who offended the great American nation.
4. On his 91st birthday he threw one of the most extravagant parties
I call it a lavish jamboree. His party took place at an exclusive lodge, spa and golf course in Victoria Falls and cost an estimated US$1 million (£648,000). Almost a zoo was consumed over the course of the celebrations. Two elephants, two buffaloes, five impalas, two sables, 40 cows, a lion and a crocodile were reportedly slaughtered. In addition, seven mattress-sized cakes were provided for the celebration. Meanwhile, in Zimbabwe, UN reports show that one in three children suffers from stunting due to starvation.
5. He had a disturbing habit of falling asleep on public occasions
Overall, the respected former Zimbabwean president’s power and dignity has been caught numerous times while napping in public. Some attributed this offense to his age, while others claim he thinks a lot! He had this fun ability to sleep comfortably in a variety of sitting positions. Both the comforting and the uncomfortable. It didn’t matter if it was a local or international conference, the old man just hummed and waited in a peaceful slumber for the whole show to end. One of the most recent such behaviors was Nigerian President General Muhammadu Buhari’s inaugural ceremony, where he was well captured by Sahara reporters before resigning. The photo below is clear proof. No wonder,
6. Mugabe has been deprived of many honors and awards
In 1994 Mugabe was made a Knight of Honor Grand Cross in the Order of Bath by Queen Elizabeth II. And on 25 June 2008 the Queen rescinded and annulled the Knighthood of Honor on the advice of the UK Foreign Secretary. This action was taken as a show of distaste for the violation of human rights and disregard for the democratic process in Zimbabwe that Mugabe had chaired.
Mugabe also holds several honorary doctorates and doctorates from international universities, awarded in the 1980s; At least three of these have since been revoked. In June 2007 he became the first international personality to be awarded an honors degree from a British university when the University of Edinburgh withdrew the degree awarded to him in 1984 voted to revoke the law degree awarded to Mugabe in 1986; This was the first time one of his honorary degrees had been revoked. Similarly, on September 12, 2008, Michigan State University revoked an honors degree it awarded to Mugabe in 1990.
6. Served 7 terms with no intention of resigning until…
After the 2013 presidential election, Robert Mugabe won the election for the 7th time. However, it was repeatedly reported that the elections were marred by voter fraud and intimidation.
One might wonder if Mugabe is never tired of power at any point. The fact is that he had no intention of resigning. In 2015, he reaffirmed his intention to run for the presidency, and in 2018! Claiming that age has not diminished his strength, he said, “I feel as energetic as a nine-year-old boy.”
8. He is a writer
Robert Mugabe has written a number of books including:
- The Third Chimurenga: Inside the Third Chimurenga (2001).
- War, Peace and Development in Contemporary Africa (1987)
- The Role of the University in the Process of Social Transformation (1983)
- Our Liberation War (1983)
9. He was once nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize
Robert Mugabe was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1981 following his electoral victory as Zimbabwe’s first democratically elected president following the country’s independence. His initial rhetoric, based on reconciliation, initially garnered widespread positive reception and undivided attention, but a series of deaths in Zimbabwe at the time removed him from the list.